A TRAINING SCHOOL FOR ELEPHANTS

Out of a sidelined colonial-era expedition in Africa comes a new history of cruelty deception and adventure from the acclaimed author of The Lost Pianos of SiberiaIn 1879 King Leopold II of Belgium launched an ambitious plan to plunder Africa’s resources. The key to cracking open the continent or so he thought was its elephants—if only he could train them. And so he commissioned the charismatic Irish adventurer Frederick Carter to ship four tamed Asian elephants from India to the East African coast where they were marched inland towards Congo. The ultimate aim was to establish a training school for African elephants.Following in the footsteps of the four elephants Roberts pieces together the story of this long-forgotten expedition in travels that take her to Belgium Iraq India Tanzania and Congo. The storytelling brings to life a compelling cast of historic characters and modern voices from ivory dealers to Catholic nuns set against rich descriptions of the landscapes travelled. In an original weave of past and present she digs deep into historic records revealing an extraordinary—and enduring—story of colonial greed hypocrisy and folly.